Reliving It
by Liliththestormgoddess
Summary: Horatio relives his wife's death when he encounters a victim. Can he twist the Fates, or will history repeat itsefl? Oneshot. Spoiler: S4.24


Reliving It

I've had this stored away for some time, and have only just found it. Hope it makes you cry. ;) That's what it's supposed to do.

In the lab, Ryan hurried through the halls and found Aaron. He handed over the evidence bag. "Here," he said. "Can you process this? It was at our murder scene. And it may save a girl's life."

"Sure." Aaron unloaded the powder from the plastic baggie and got to work on processing it. An hour later, he phoned Horatio. Horatio in turn called up Eric.

"Eric, we're going for a drive."

Together in the Hummer, Horatio told Eric what Aaron had told him. "The powder from the floor by the victim traces back to a factory outside the Glades. They're the only ones who use it for packaging."

"Could be from our killer," Eric mused. "D'you think we'll find the girl, too? If he took her with him, going to this warehouse may be the best place to get rid of her."

"Let's hope so."

Horatio pulled up outside the factory, and guns drawn, the two men slowly made their way into the factory. Inside they could hear footsteps and a low voice.

Inching around the corner, Horatio could see a man carrying boxes around in one hand, with the other hand holding a gun pointed toward a girl, about sixteen, standing in the corner.

The sight of the girl, standing there alive, sparked a slight hope in the pair. She was still alive, and by the looks of it, unharmed. For now.

The girl, who had long but tangled, wavy blond hair and green eyes that appeared to have been crying, slowly looked in their direction. Her eyes flicked to them, but nothing else suggested an added presence.

Eric nodded at her, and the girl looked back to the man who was coming back towards her, gun pointed and smiling. She never flinched, but stood rooted to the spot.

Just as they were going to move in, the man jumped up, swung his gun around, and cocked it from across the room towards the girl. Her eyes went wide with fear.

The man looked crazy as he looked at the police, whom he'd finally noticed. "I'll shoot her! I will!"

Horatio stepped out of the shadows, gun pointed straight at the man. "I advise you not to," he said calmly.

The man looked defiant. "You're making a big mistake," Horatio stepped closer. "Now, give me the gun, and we can-"

Without warning, the suspect let fire a shot. With a cry, the girl fell back against the wall, a torrent of blood spraying the walls.

Horatio and Eric simultaneously shot at the suspect, and he fell to the floor, unmoving. Horatio raced to the girl while Eric pulled out his phone, calling for an ambulance. The backup they'd called for when they'd first heard voices hadn't arrived yet. His voice shook as he gave the information, glancing over at the girl.

"It's okay," Horatio said as he arrived at the girl, who was starring at the ceiling in shock while her face grimaced in pain. He knelt next to her in the blood pool, reassuring her. An ambulance is coming. Hang on"

He looked at her to find the hit and how bad it was. His heart fell as he saw that the bullet had penetrated the girl's stomach.

He was racing across the roads. When he finally got to the site, he could see Marisol had been shot in the stomach. The paramedics were working on her, but he could see they were not hopeful.

The girl began to cough, which made her stomach convulse, and sent a slice of pain through her. She moaned and closed her eyes.

Horatio pressed his hands to her bleeding abdomen, trying to keep in as much blood as possible before the ambulance arrived. "Hand in there, hang in there."

She opened her glazed eyes and saw Eric hurrying over to them. "Ambulance is on its way," he told them as he too took in the scene. The pain and terror in the girl's eyes brought back a stab of memories.

As blood poured through his fingers, Horatio applied more pressure on the wound, fervent now to keep the girl alive. There were too many painful memories liked to the scene, and he didn't want the same to happen again.

She breathed shallowly, and moved her hands to press down on top of Horatio's in an attempt to help him. "Help," she whispered.

"It's coming, sweetheart, it's coming," he told her, reassuring not only her, but himself too. He needed to know that help was coming.

The ambulance raced along as he held his dying wife's hand. He pressed a hand to her would and blood flowed thick through his fingers. "Don't leave me," she whispered, voice strained.

The piercing sound of the ambulance broke through his grieving thoughts, filling all their hearts with hope.

Eric waved them in, and the paramedics rushed through, quickly assessing the girl's condition, which was not good. They loaded her on the stretcher and put her in the ambulance.

In the moment they paused, Eric laid his hand on Horatio's shoulder. "You go with them." Horatio nodded and got into the ambulance beside the girl he suddenly cared so much for. He didn't know anything about her, yet he knew there was much in common.

An EMT quickly bandaged the wound as the ambulance sped on. The girl's hand moved and Horatio quickly caught it, and held tight. His blue eyes met her green ones as he smiled at her, and he saw behind her mask of pain, a glimmer of a smile appear, shooting hope through her.

As her gaze flickered, he grasped her hand tightly. Her dying eyes looked at him pleadingly, never to let go.

He had, but he wasn't going to this time. He was going to do it the right way.

The ambulance bounced along, and the girl's breathing became shallower and shallower. Her eyes slowly closed as she went in and out of consciousness.

The paramedics went into a frenzy trying to keep her from slipping into a coma. It took all their effort. They finally arrived at Dade Memorial, where the paramedics quickly unloaded the girl and rushed her into the hospital. Eric pulled up right after and got out to accompany Horatio. The two men followed the stretcher until their procession was impeded. The nurse asked them to wait out in the hall.

They sat on the chairs in the reception area, as tension hung thick in the air. The day reminded them too much of Marisol.

Horatio was studying the blood on his hands, as he had so last time, when three hours later a doctor came out.

"Are you the officers who brought the young lady in?"

Solemnly, they nodded.

The doctor showed no emotion. "She's stable now, but she needs more observation."

"How is she, doctor?" Horatio asked quietly as he looked at Marisol, still as the heart monitor beeped slowly.

"Well, she's stable now…"

That statement had been left hanging, but had ended badly. He didn't want the same response.

It was three days later, and Horatio was back at the hospital, where they had told him that the girl, Elizabeth, was fast on the road to recovery, doing great.

He walked into her room, where Elizabeth was laying on the bed, reading a book. She looked up, noticed Horatio, and smiled. She closed the book. "They told me you were coming in. Thank you so much," she whispered as he took the seat next to her bed.

He smiled. "How are you?"

"Fine. I still feel lousy and I can't get up without help, though."

He looked at the floor as she said these next, painful words: "I'm sorry."

He looked back up, puzzled. "Why?"

"I heard about your wife." Her voiced grew quiet. "I could tell…in you're eyes…that it was all too familiar for you."

He managed to fake a smile and looked out the window, the torrent of memories flooding his mind.

She didn't miss it. A warm, living hand on his made him look over to see her hand in his, giving him the strength and reassurance he needed.

Happiness flooded through him as he looked at Elizabeth's shining face. He grinned back, gripped her hand, and knew, in that moment, that he had made a difference.

He had spared a life that had not yet reached its time.

And as he sat there in the hospital room, he thought, for you, Marisol. For you.


End file.
